A master of his craft

Marc Peters is an artist with a bulldozer.

The person tasked with building the new Ironman Raceway that will be the center of the Motocross world this weekend was running that dozer as he was putting more final touches on the track.

“We’re shooting for the best racetrack in the world,” the Southern California native and Laguna Beach resident said of his newest creation at Tom’s Marine. “Everything we always wanted to do on a race track we have done here.”

From steep hills and triple jumps to tight hairpin turns, Peters has carved his vision into what was a tree-filled valley two years ago.

“We were here in December of 2012 to do the first layout, and it was nothing but trees,” he said. “I saw the course in my head, and that layout is exactly what it is right now. Jeff Russell (another track designer) and I started marking trees and the vision started taking shape.”

The next year was spent as the Shaver family removed hundreds and hundreds of trees from the proposed track layout.

By the end of last year, there were more trees to remove, but the bulldozers also got into action as the vision turned into dirt moving.

“What I wanted from the start was to use every inch of this terrain,” he said. “The all-natural look of this course, with trees canopied so that fans can see through them yet get some shade from them, is what will hopefully make this an epic track.”

One of the top track designers and builders in the nation, if not the world, likened to golf course designer Pete Dye, Peters was the only choice to build the Ironman.

“Marc has a tremendous pedigree,” MX Sports Event Director Tim Cotter said. “He’s an artist, and with us having a unique and clean canvas of this facility, we wanted his creativity and vision. He is in a very elite group of track builders in the nation, and it has always been our goal to build a world-class facility here.”

That pedigree goes back 20 years as a track builder, when he landed his first design and building job.

“It was for Kowasaki in Corona, California,” he said. “I built their SuperCross track. After that it was Suzuki, then KTM and Honda, and then in 1998 it was Yamaha. “I’ve been taking care of the Japanese tracks for a long time.” 

Peters also owns a couple of his own tracks in California and raced professionally in the Motocross and Super Cross series for many years.

“My family was in the promotional world,” he said, “and I started helping my dad at his track. I caught on quickly and realized this was something I wanted to do.”

The Ironman track is one of nearly 500 that Peters has built all over the world.

“I’ve built tracks in Qutar and Dubai, Italy, France and Switzerland,” he noted. “Russia, England, Belgium, Columbia, Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica. Plus all over the United States.”

The layout presents Peters with an opportunity to challenge the best racers in the world.

“This is going to be a rough track,” he said. “The natural terrain is going to be a real test of the racers. They are going to have to be more than just fast. They are going to have to be in good shape — this track will be a physical challenge to them.”

One of those challenges will be a nearly 70 degree run up a hill, most of which will be in the air from a jump at the base.

“This elevator shaft is going to have racers in the air over 100 feet up that hill, and about two feet above it,” he said. “When they get to the top of the hill and the earth drops away, it will be quite a test. Then they make a hairpin turn and come right back down. Then they hit another hairpin turn and go 120 feet up a triple jump. This track will have a flow and be rough. It will create good lines for spectators and really good racing.”

While the artist had the vision, and the layout of the track is the same as the first day Peters saw the facility, the same isn’t quite so true for the guys responsible for other parts of the facility.

“We’ve moved every tunnel about three times,” Cotter said, “and the start-finish line is moving for about the third time. We’ve had to see what Mother Nature would give us. It’s been daunting, and there were those couple times when I rolled my eyes, but it has been great.”

John Ayers, Director of Operations for the series, also has had a hand in finishing the vision.

“Marc has built us a cool track, and my job is to fit in the pits, the sponsor village, access for the fans and many other things,” he said. “This track is nature at its best, and our fans like the natural element of racing — the rain or shine, the mud and trees. It’s our environment. You don’t find a first-year facility like this.”

All three agreed that none of what will become the center of the Motocross world this weekend would have happened without the efforts of Tom Shaver and his family.

“They have done a truly amazing job,” Peters said of the Shavers. “They have been A+ on everything. Without their love and passion, none of this would have happened. They just get it. We just say we need something, and they make it happen.”

Even to the point of loaning clothing.

“I had to loan Marc a snowmobile suit so he could run his dozer,” Tom said. “He came from Southern California and wasn’t quite ready for Indiana winter weather. He just kept saying ‘Dude, it’s cold.’”

The artist, who took a few days last week to go to Sturgis, S.D. and the motorcycle rallies, and his tools will be hard at work right up to the start of the big race on Saturday, and will be available for whatever is needed.

“The track has to be in good shape,” Peters said. “The key is to make the track last, to stay in good shape, not just for this event but for future events. We also have to watch for safety issues and make sure everything is working the way race officials want. We will be ready to tweak little or big things. I’ll be on the dozer. We just hope for a lot of folks who will enjoy the place.”

The artist, working on his never-quite-finished canvas.